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cj99
Tonopah,AZ
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Ok , So as we know the current cost of fuel ( 5 to 6$ ) for diesel it is more important than 1 year ago to try and save fuel. so things I would not have bothered with due to pay back time are now on the table again.
So I have bought ( but not gotten yet ) a wind deflector for the RV ( goes on the back/top of the truck ) . I have been reading and watching videos about them and it seems a very mixed bag. some people claim 1.5 to 3 MPG while others seem to have even seen a loss in MPG.
Most of the reviews that claimed a loss were on trucks that pulled TT and I believe the issue is with the distance between the top of the truck and from of the TT, typically feet away like close to 5 ft. while on a 5th wheel the top of the back of my truck to the front of the RV is maybe 2 ft ? I have to believe they work or you would not see them on big 5th wheel trucks ( tractor trailer setups ) But most people even ones who seen little to no improvement say it did cut way down on bugs on the front of the RV. That alone has value to me and if there is no bugs then were did they go ? They had to go up and over or around the RV which kind of tells me it must work !
Now I am getting ready to travel about 2000 mile on my next trip so even if I get half of what they claim ( 1.5 MPG ) that's 200$ at 5 dollar a gallon price . This almost pays for the air deflector . And if I sold it for half of what I paid for it then I'm ahead right there.
I will try to record data and post it here. Ill do 65 MPH on flat road with it down for 50 miles or so then try it with it up and see what the old MPG gauge says .
* This post was
edited 07/31/22 05:42pm by cj99 *
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cj99
Tonopah,AZ
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FYI my last trip with this same RV my average was about 7 MPG , the diesel prices added up fast at the MPG
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Michelle.S
Western NY till fall, then Sebring, FL
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WOW, how fast were you running? Was there a very strong headwind?
My unit is pushing 20K and I still average 10 to 11 overall running at 65.
2018 Chevy 3500HD High Country Crew Cab DRW, D/A, 2016 Redwood 39MB, Dual AC, Fireplace, Sleep #Bed, Auto Sat Dish, Stack Washer/Dryer, Auto Level Sys, Disk Brakes, Onan Gen, 17.5" "H" tires, MORryde Pin & IS, Comfort Ride, Dual Awnings, Full Body Paint
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bgum
South Louisiana
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Those seem to have gone out of fashion. I see them much less often as in the past. The newer trend is where an air dam is used between the tractors wheels and the trailers wheels.Your best hope is that the price of diesel drops as the price of gas has.
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MFL
Midwest
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Joined: 11/28/2012
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Michelle.S wrote:WOW, how fast were you running? Was there a very strong headwind?
My unit is pushing 20K and I still average 10 to 11 overall running at 65.
Something is wrong, or info missing, a diesel should do way better than 7 mpg.
Jerry
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Hi cj99,
I have air tabs. They do help with being pushed around by on coming semi-truck trailers.
They do improve mileage with a tail wind.
They do make the cab area a bunch quieter.
The do not appear to improve mileage with a head wind, or no wind.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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JIMNLIN
Oklahoma
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Quote:So I have bought ( but not gotten yet ) a wind deflector for the RV ( goes on the back/top of the truck ) . I have been reading and watching videos about them and it seems a very mixed bag. some people claim 1.5 to 3 MPG while others seem to have even seen a loss in MPG.
One thing we all know is either you get better mpg with the wing or you won't.
Either way pro or con, much depends on the combo tested.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers
'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er 11200 two slides
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cj99
Tonopah,AZ
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So I have a 40 ft forest river - river ranch 5th wheel , very tall and I get 7 MPG i have a 2012 F350 with 6.7 diesel and 373 gears, one reason for the low MPG might be 3.73 gear are kind of a hwy gear not like 410 etc.
All I can say is empty no trailer I get 12-15 ( and never gotton over 17 and that was only on one trip empty ) on a good day. And with the trailer I get 7 MPG
Yes you dont see them as much anymore but then again diesel was in the 3$ range a year ago, so i would not even think about it then. and yes it has dropped ( a little) I am in Harrisburg PA and diesel is still 5.50 a gallon .
I dont drive fast with the trailer attached 65-70 tops
also mine is 4x4 crew cab long bed DRW, I had a short bed 6.0 diesel SRW before that got 18 empty and 12 loaded
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cj99
Tonopah,AZ
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SO I'm not saying I'm going to save MPG with this? I hope so would be great to see 1.5 MPG or more. I'm just saying I will post real world test here for you all. If Diesel was 3.50 a gallon again I would not waste my time. But even with fuel slowly dropping we don't know where its going to land and for how long. An this current price If this works it will pay for it self on the 2nd trip.
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cj99
Tonopah,AZ
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MFL wrote:Michelle.S wrote:WOW, how fast were you running? Was there a very strong headwind?
My unit is pushing 20K and I still average 10 to 11 overall running at 65.
Something is wrong, or info missing, a diesel should do way better than 7 mpg.
Jerry
nope 7 MPG over 1500 miles last trip little up hill and high altitude for the first 500 miles it was 10.5 MPG but by the end of the trip it slowly fell to 7 . This truck runs great and i have had it since 2015 and put 100k on it , a lot of those miles are towing mile too. Its always been worse on fuel mileage than my last truck which was a 6.0
ford
Michelle.S what is your truck ? and what rear gear set up do you have ? how tall is your RV , mine no kidding is right at 13.6 , it scares the heck out of me out east here with all the low overheads they have. My RV is taller tan a lot of tractor trailers I see. So tall in fact they didnt even put roof mounted AC,s on this Rv its in the basement because its too tall
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